In 1997, Dennis Rodkin, garden editor of the Chicago Tribune, discovered my own small piece of the planet. Here’s some of what he had to say:

Ware started doing his yard in 1994 without a plan, but over the next few years, his knack for precision and his appetite for simplicity worked together to help him create a genuinely remarkable garden”

“This is a garden that successfully solves problems with which sophisticated gardeners continually struggle”.

“It has four season visual interest – some gardeners with more room are hard pressed to cram in even two seasons.”

“It’s trendy, with a big swath of black-eyed Susans, a pond and a few dollops of ornamental grasses, at the same time that it feels timeless and settled”

“He did one major feature, deck, sidewalk, pond, at a time, focusing intently on doing each just right”

“Ware didn’t select a single plant until after the deck, sidewalk and pond were complete and he knew what space there was to deal with.”

“The garden is decidely different from season to season but unified and subtle”

“And on top of all that, the space is so absorbing a composition of colors and textures that those who visit can’t help but daydream about it afterward”